Perfect Red - Part 2
Somewhere in Tokyo - Ages Ago
A red haired kid of white shirt is seen walking entering in a park carrying a guitar case with himself.
The kid stares at his reflect in the fountain, he can't help but remember the words of his cruel father as he sees his own reflection
"(You're useless! Why I was punished with such a weakling like you as my son? You're an embarrassment for the clan!)" - Were the words of the kid's father that reasonated in his head
"So what did you wished?" - Said a female voice calling out the red headed boy, taking him out of his train of thought as he looks at his right to see a young girl of 12 years wearing a white shirt, a white headband and black pants
"What?" - Asked the boy confused
"I was wondering what did you wished to the fountain, usually when people come to this place, they came with the intention to throw a coin inside making a wish." - Says the girl who was looking at Yagami with her hands on her back
"Wish... " - The boy just stared in the water wondering if he should throw a coin
"I see, is alright. You don't need to tell me your wish." - Says the girl looking at the confused look from the boy
"No, I didn't-well I haven't made a wish yet." - Said the boy
"You haven't?" - Says the girl
"... No." - Said the boy as he looked down
"You want to do it?" - Asked the girl approaching the boy
"What? No.. I'm not interested, besides I don't have have a coin to spare throwing into this fountain." - Said the boy
"Ah, no? What about this one!" - Says the girl pulling out a coin behind Yagami's ear for his surprise
"What? How did you do that?" - Said the boy reacting surprised as the girl puts the coin in his hand
"Don't think too much about it, just throw it! Make a wish!" - Says the girl with a little smile
"*Sigh* Alright." - Having nothing to lose the boy throwed the coin to the fountain
The girl soon after throwed one with her smiling back at the boy
"What was your wish?" - Iori
"Can't tell you, you would clearly mock me." - Says the girl
"But I think it became true..." - Says the girl throwing a sly smile at the boy
"Well that's fine. You don't need to tell me." - Iori decides to leave with his guitar
"Wait!" - The girl seeing Yagami about to leave decides to approach him
"What's your name?" - Said the girl showing some interest in Yagami
"Yagami... Iori." - Iori had no problem to tell this to the girl
"Well, Iori. You seem like a interesting person, a musician eh?" - Says the girl looking at the boy's guitar case
"You must be pretty good with that guitar!" - Says the girl smiling to the boy clearly wanting to know more about him
"Yes, is something that I brought with all my savings." - Said Iori who clearly had a bit of attachment to this guitar
"Oh true, where's is my manners? My name by the way is Chizuru." - Said the girl presenting herself pulling another coin from Yagami's ear
"What?" - Iori
"Hehehe... Do you feel thirsty? How about I buy some ice cream cones for the two of us and you can tell me more about your music." - Says Chizuru inviting Yagami to buy a pair of ice creams
"(This girl, despite that smile... I can't help but feel this certain sadness coming out of her... Why?)" - Thinks Yagami staring at the girl with him being able to see pass her smile a troubled hurt soul like him
"(How I regret having meet you there in that park, Kagura!)" - Said the voice of Iori as blinking he remembers more
"(Even back there, you were such a meddlesome woman getting in what wasn't your business!)" - Iori
"(At the time I was so foolish, to think that I could even have something similar to a so called normal life after not being forced to follow the steps of my father with his passing. I thought I would be free to do whatever I wanted to do with my life once he was death!)" - Iori
"(I was such a foolish kid... I should had know "He" wouldn't allow me to have that. From the moment my father died, I became his slave by right.)" - Iori
"(We tried... But I knew it wouldn't work. Because my other self would suddenly appear manifesting ordering me to kill you!)" - Says Iori remembering how as his relationship with the girl of black hair progessed, soon the influence of Orochi grew with constant voices appearing in his head telling Yagami to murder Chizuru
"Are you alright, Iori?" - Says Chizuru as Yagami gets up from their picnic putting his hand in a tree starting to pant and breathing in a intense way
"Yes-Yes! I'm going to be fine... *Pant* *Pant*ยจ Just give me a moment." - Says Iori sweating like crazy for Chizuru's shock who could feel Iori's aura becoming darker and heavier with Yagami not letting her see his eyes having changing sporting this terrifict look
"ARGH!" - Holding his head in anger, Yagami feels like not being able to control it
"I'm sorry. But I-There's something I need to do, I have to go now..." - Says Iori recovering himself in this dry tone as he runs without turning back for Chizuru's concerns who tries to calm him but Iori can't turn to look at her, he just keeps running acting as he hadn't heard her
"I can't do that! I can't do that to her! I-I won't kill her..." - Said Iori to himself in front of the mirror of his apartment
As the winds blow like crazy making the sheets of the apartments' windows go like crazy Yagami realizes something
"NO! I can't do that! I won't do it!" - Iori having heard the orders of letting this other self come out refuses as he punches the wall creating a big crack
"I know what I must do..." Said Iori looking back at his reflection as shadows cover his eyes
"(My father, that bastard used to say "In order to become stronger some sacrifices must be done." And I had to do that... At the time I couldn't gather the force of killing you like I did with my father. I saw you as nothing more than a innocent person who shouldn't perish only for me to get stronger to fullfil this so called role that damn snake put on me.)" - Iori
"(So I ended up burning that bridge...)" - Iori remembers the tears rolling out of the girl's face as five days later he appeared to her... But the boy that appeared to her wasn't the Yagami the girl knew anymore
"Iori.. I don't understand! What happened to you? Why are you telling me this? If you have a problem, we can work through it together! I can help you. Please don't do this to me. I-I love you!" - Said the girl trying to grab the hand of Yagami
Iori removes the hand of the girl in such a rude way
"Shut up! Do you really think I care about your stupid feelings. Didn't you heard what I just told you? Nothing is wrong with me. Do you want me to spell it for you, I don't want to see you ever again in my life! This isn't a joke, get that in that little stupid head of yours!" - Said Iori turning walking away from the hurt Kagura who felt totally awful as if her heart had been destroyed in tiny bits falling to her knees
The girl was sunked in a train of emotions as she cried, Yagami walking away was able to still hear her cries
"*Sob* Fine... *Sob* If that's how you want it. *Sob* I hope you're happy, idiot! *sob*" - Chizuru holding her fist in anger as her tears roll pulls out a gift she was planning to give to Yagami out of her bag... A elegant looking music box that she tosses it to the ground breaking it before getting up and run away out of the place covering her eyes and tears
Curious about what was that, Iori returns some moments later staring at the broken bits of the music box, he looks at the horizon seeing the path that Chizuru must had took back to her home... before returning to walk on his own path
"(Love is such a miserable emotion! Only weaklings attach themselves to it, the only thing you proved to me that day was that you were one of these type of people.)" - Iori
"(True strength comes from within! And only one's will to embrace pain in exchange for power. From the need to survive and be feared! Love? Friendship? Only weaklings think strength comes from such emotions and those so called bonds.)" - Iori
"(I followed my path that day, I have no regrets. One day I'll unlock my true potencial, the day that I finish with that Kusanagi worm, that day I'll be the master of this power and not even that damn snake of his servants will be able to have control of me anymore... Hehehehehe, I won't perish like the other Yagami that ever lived. I will be free! Free to reclaim an ever bigger power for myself! Hahahahaha)" - Iori's laughs like a maniac as he says this
"(Are you proud of me now, father? From wherever hell you're burning in, are you proud of me now? You pathetic depressed old bastard, you were never worthy of that power anyway! You loved to put me down, but the real shame for our clan was you! Then again, I'm not doing it for you, I don't care about the clan... But for myself! I'll surpass these pathetic fools that came before me... Hehehehe! Yes! I'll become the owner of my own destiny... Once I kill Kusanagi and his pathetic family.)" - Iori
"(And I'll carve a new path for myself out of the blood of Kusanagi... I'll step beyond that barrier that separates mortal men from the gods!)" - Iori
"(Of course, expecting a foolish woman like you to understand this is impossible, Kagura. With your preachy attitude! Your annoying voice! Your need to get your nose where you're not called! Your need to have control of the situation not matter what it is! Your incompetence! You clearly never changed... Deep down you're still the same foolish child crying for your big sister that I meet years ago.)" - Iori
"(If anything, you're just lucky I don't care about the power of your clan, the Yata were always just a zero at the side. Killing you wouldn't bring me any joy! It won't do nothing for me... Because I'm sure that even if you didn't existed, other people would get in the way like you do. Any of the so called friends of that bastard Kyo.)" - Iori
"(That's why I never attempted to get rid of you, you're nothing but a minor annoyance. You rich pretentious scum! With your stupid feelings for me still burning even after those years! You never let go of those memories clearly. While I wish I could erase those memories of my dumb past self. They do nothing for me! More than make me regret having spared your life.)" - Iori
"(And now look at you, trapped in your own body, nothing more than a tool for that demon... You really are pathetic!)" - Iori
"(But that's what you get from getting your nose in where you weren't called. You always have to play the heroine like the stupid idol! Like that damn Kusanagi!)" - Iori
"(But... I'm not out of mercy. Your fate now being nothing more than a tool for that demon is one worse than death! I'm sure if that had happened to me, you would be looking for a way to get rid of this demon without being forced to kill me, because I know you really well.)" - Iori
"(But me... HEHEHEHEH! I prefer to put you out of your misery to free you! Than letting you live as a mere puppet. After all, the only force nobody in this world can't escape is death itself. And those who are dead are able to obtain a power that isn't in the world of living... Those who are dead have ascended to a better place than this cold and miserable world.)" - Thinks Iori looking at the remains of Kagura's body on the ground
"(You will finally be able to rest with your sister...)" - Iori doesn't feel any regrets staring at the blood pool where Kagura's remains were
"..." - Genjuro stares at Yagami's blank face, his doubts are cleared at seeing how Yagami is clearly not feeling anything seeing Kagura gone
Moriya on the other hand is shocked to see how Yagami has no reaction out of see a supposed friend of his dead with him just looking at the other side
"That should make everyone return to normal now." - Moriya
"Hmph! And that's one pest to care about less." - Iori
"Was that needed? You really couldn't have found a way to free her?" - Moriya
"That demon wasn't going to let go of her body so easily, sometimes sacrifices must be done." - Iori
"Not bad! Not bad! You three really are so out of mercy! I like that!" - Says a voice with a supernatural tone as Iori sees how Chizuru's remains start to melt
"What?" - Iori, Genjuro and Moriya turn to see something coming behind them as a formation of blood appears
The strange formation takes form revealing to be not other than Mizuki who grabs her arm and is seem visible panting sweating
"That was so cold. To think you're willing to kill her, it is clear you're not like them. Frankly I wasn't expecting that but now that I know the type of man you are, I won't let that happen again." - Says Mizuki
"(Damn it! Using a big part of my chi to recover from my wounds, to rebuild Kagura's body has weakened the curse! Damn Yagami! Still it doesn't matter! I see it now that he is willing to go to the extreme to get rid of me, unlike those sentimentalist fools of Kusanagi and the rest, this man doesn't have a problem killing her.)" - Mizuki recovers fully as steam comes from her wounds that were marked by the cuts of Genjuro
"(But I can't allow myself to lose another hostess like what happened to Bizuki. And much less one as resourceful as you, Kagura.)" - Mizuki
"Now, shall we try this again? You three haven't changed anything!" - Mizuki
Meanwhile
"Argh..." - Kyo notices how slowly his eye is returning to normal but the curse is still going
"What just happened?" - Leona
"I don't know but the mist started to decrease, just a little bit." - Akari
Akari sees four of tbe goblins having returned with the deactivated bombs.
"Four bombs deactivated, plus the one we found. Just seven more to go." - Akari
Meanwhile
"And if I could, I'd kiss you and run away"
"Now shut your mouth and pray it's something that I'll do"
"But I'm a fool, a magnet to your vicious words"
"To you, I look absurd but I'm in love with you"
"I'd change the weather, I'd change the weather for you now"
"I'd change the weather, I'd get down on my knees and pray for you!" - Are the lyrics from the song playing in the small juke box in Rugal's base
"I like that song!" - Says Yashiro as he plays poker with Botan, Shion, Allen O'Neil, Krauser and Ron
"*Sigh* Well what I can say, I guess I'm just lucky!" - Says Shion winning another game for the annoyance of the rest
"You must be cheating!" - Allen
"Yes, one time is one thing. But this is ridiculous, Shion!" - Botan
*Swoosh* - A sound is heard in the outside calling the attention of everyone in the base
A large portion of the group comes out seeing the strange flying ship belonging to the base of their enemies but from the inside Mr. Big, Freeman, Grant, Silber and Zeus
"Huh? You guys managed to escape out of their base?" - Botan
"Something like that, one of us lend us a hand to get out of there... Mizuki." - Says Mr. Big for the surprise of Rugal, Botan and Shermie
"Mizuki? She is alive?" - Rugal
"Yes, she is using the body of Chizuru Kagura, she prepared something for Kusanagi and the rest. Whatever it is, she sounded too confident to take them by herself." - Says Freeman surprising Botan and Shermie
"She is on Kagura's body?" - Botan
"Yes, whatever she is doing there must be big. She promised to bring the head of Kusanagi as a trophy." - Grant
"Hmph! Mizuki is a confident witch, but she is underestimating them to take them all by herself. Whatever is her plan, it indeed would be impressive if she manages to get rid of them." - Rugal
"You all could use a rest as we discuss this." - Rugal invites Mr. Big and the rest to the base but turns to look at Zeus.
"Except you, Zeus." - Rugal
"What?" - Zeus
"Do you really think that I'm such a clueless idiot to not have realize it was you who tried to get rid of me and Mizuki back when things were just starting?" - Rugal's right eye brights as he says that
"Wait, how did you?" - Zeus
"You can thank Mizuki for revealing this to me." - Rugal
"Wait, Rugal. Don't tell me you're going to throw me away out of the base, we all want the same thing at the end of the day. I can be a resourceful asset." - Zeus
"Hmph! You're right, Zeus. You can be one resourceful asset..." - Rugal gives the signal to Neo Dio as he runs impaling Zeus
"ARHG!" - Zeus
"Why did you?" - Zeus
"Unfortunately for you, I can't forgive your betrayal. Your spot has been filled by another person anyway." - Rugal looks at the strange Shiki who is still being mind controlled by Botan
Using his blades Neo Dio slashes Zeus in multiple parts destroying them with his electric rays as everyone else becomes shocked seeing what just happened to Zeus
"Hmph! I trust that this lesson is not lost upon the rest of you!" - Says Rugal as he returns to the base with the rest
"Enough of this, you pathetic humans!" - Mizuki attacks Iori, Moriya and Genjuro with all her anger mixing her spells with the techniques of Kagura
"Argh!" - Moriya jumps dodging the attack of Mizuki with him trying to slash Mizuki who keeps sending more shadows at her
"Useless!" - Mizuki rises her hand attacking Moriya as a worm like creature comes from the ground with this creature starting to enroll itself on Moriya's body but Moriya quickly cuts it down with his sword getting up
The struggle continues as Iori and Genjuro interchange hits with Mizuki but Mizuki uses a shadow of her using her Rimen 85 Katsu: Reigi no Ishizue on Genjuro, sealing his chi and sending him to crash against a rock
"Give up, Iori! You're not match for me, even if you cut me in pieces, even if you burn me. I'll return! I can't be dealed with so easily!" - Mizuki
"Shut up! You disgusting freak! I'll erase you forever!" - Iori
"Oh such rude words, you're breaking my heart! Rakikikiki!" - Mizuki
Iori keeps holding Mizuki in place noticing Moriya approaching stealthy to deliver a fatal blow to Mizuki
"That won't work!" - A third hand comes from Mizuki's back with her tossing a strange circle composed of orbs trapping Moriya as he struggles falling to the ground losing his katana
"ARGH!" - Moriya feels how his chi is being sucked by this strange circle composed of blue orbs
"What?" - Iori
"You like my new technique? Is very handy when it comes to tied little annoying snakes like yourselves!" - Mizuki
"You damn!" - Iori is surprised the hand of the back and a third one appears starting to hold his neck as the struggle between him and Mizuki continue with Iori also grabing Kagura by her neck
"Give up, Yagami! You can't kill me so easily!" - Mizuki
"*Pant* I don't care! Not matter what happens I won't let you go!" - Iori holds the neck of Mizuki tighter
"AGH!" - Mizuki
"Three more bombs to go!" - Says Akari seeing how the goblins bring more deactivated bombs taking the count to only three more
"(Damn it! He is not going to let go of me. I must get rid of him... I must kill him! My plan is done, there's no way he can't escape, I had to slow down the effect of the curse but it doesn't matter, they won't be able to survive the bombs. I won!)" - Mizuki smiles
"(And I think I know the way to get rid of him...)" - Mizuki looks down not staring at Iori anymore
"Rakikikiki!" - Mizuki chuckles
"What's so funny, you damn witch!" - Says Iori still not letting go of Mizuki's neck
"Curse of the mollusk!" - Mizuki rises her head staring at Iori in the eyes but having activated the curse there, Iori is surprised as he realizes the pupils of Mizuki are different
"WHAT?!" - Iori sees two strange red spirals in place of Mizuki's pupils with him wondering what is that as soon his entire body starts to feel strange
"ARHg!" - Iori becomes confused as he sees his arm exploding with strange egg shells and notices how his arm is becoming smaller shrinking as she sees snails reflecting on the damn spirals that Mizuki's pupils have become
"What's wrong? Afraid of becoming the slimy, disgusting creature you are deep down, Yagami?" - Mizuki smiles as she taunts Iori challenging him to look at her eyes
"ARGH!" - Iori feels an awful pain as he notices how his right eye covered by his hair is starting to stretch out of his head in a grotesque way
"(Those damn spirals!)" - Iori can't help but be hypnotized by the spirals of Mizuki's eyes
"Is over! I win! Rakikikikii! Once you have become nothing more than a snail, you won't be a threat to me no more." - Mizuki
"*Pant* Hehehehehe..." - Yagami smiles despite turning into a snail in front of Mizuki he refuses to let go of her grabing her with an even stronger grip
"You clearly don't know me if you think this curse will stop me!" - Iori
"I have been cursed my entire life! This is nothing!" - Says Iori as his other eye starts stretching too out of his head
"ARGH!" - Mizuki
"You damn bastard! Get your hands away from me!" - Mizuki is angry as despite looking like half snail man Iori still doesn't give up
"And unlike you, I know more about your host that you ever know!" - Removing his left hand from Mizuki's neck, Iori uses his left normal hand to get it inside of Kagura's chest making Mizuki feel a huge pain as Yagami grabs something
"WHAT?!" - Mizuki sees how Iori pulls out the Mirror of Yata covered in blood out of her with him falling rolling backwards
"AGH!" - Mizuki is confused as instantly she falls on the ground becoming dizzy and starting to feel sick
"ARGH!" - Mizuki screams coughing blood
"(WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!)" - Mizuki
"(My head! My head hurts like hell and I don't feel my legs! What is this? What is this?!)" - Mizuki is unable to feel her legs
Looking at the hand of Yagami, Mizuki starts to deduce something
"..." - Mizuki pants feeling totally sick, she had never felt this awful in her life before.
"You really don't know Kagura as well as you claimed." - Says Iori rising his head looking normal again for Mizuki's shock who realizes this ony could mean a thing
"And that's the last one." - Says Akari as the last bomb is bring to her, but then she looks at where Kyo and the rest were
"AGH" - Kyo suddenly slowly starts returning to look like a human again as so does Athena, Terry and everyone else having been affected by the curse of the mollusk
"We are back to normal?" - Athena finally kneels looking at her hands as she sees how Kyo's eyes returned to be on their place too
"Kyo, you're fine again!" - Athena
"I'm also glad you're fine too." - Says Kyo smiling as he proceeds to look at his hands back to normal
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME! YOU MISERABLE PIECE OF SHIT!" - Mizuki screams feeling this terrible headache and pain
"You haven't realized it?" - Iori
"No it can't be!" - Mizuki starts to realize what she feared was true
"Without the mirror of Yata, the body you're possessing isn't as powerful as you might had thought." - Iori
"Kagura puts too much chi into the mirror, you could say she also puts alot of her vital force on it. I never dabbled too much of those so called traditions but I know for sure she is totally useless without the mirror, the artifact and her life force are connected in a way. Without it, part of her vital force is removed." - Iori
"No! NO! That can't be! You have to be joking!" - Mizuki
"Believe what you want. It doesn't matter to me, your plan failed." - Says Iori as Mizuki opens her eyes widely realizing her bombs never exploded and the countdown should had ended moments ago
"(Why? Chizuru, you damn weakling! If I had knew this about you, I should had picked the idol or the mercenary instead of you! This body is useless now! No! I can't let him get away with this, maybe the chi and techniques of Kagura are out of my reach but not entirely my entire power!)" - Mizuki raises her arm totally weakened
"Gi-give me m-my mirror!" - Says Mizuki in this weakened tone
"Hmph! Keep begging, this is where your path ends. You made a mistake taking her body and now you're nothing but a broken woman without it. Waiting to be executed!" - Iori
"..." - Mizuki holds her fist in anger
"I wasn't talking to you, idiot!" - Mizuki smiles despite feeling this huge headache
*Growl* - Iori hears a strange roar as he turns but he is unable to reaction as the strange green dog like demon of orange hair appears biting his hand forcing him to drop the mirror
"ARGH!" - Iori attacks the dog but the dog quickly frees his hand and decides to go for the mirror picking it with his mouth
"NO!" - Iori throws a Ura 108 Shiki: Ya Sakazuki with the hopes of freezing the dog but this one jumps with the mirror arriving to where the injured Mizuki is with Mizuki using her left arm to grab on to her pet's body with Yagami seeing Mizuki leaving the area mounting her dog Maju
"DAMN IT!" - Iori
"*Pant* AH *Pant*" - Mizuki looks at her hands after having survived this encounter, she grabs the mirror from Maju's mouth
"AH... Much better!" - Mizuki feels how he headache and sickness is disappearing slowly with her feeling nothing but anger at her plan having been sabotaged by Iori and those two
"(And now, to make sure I don't make the same mistakes that silly Kagura did regarding how to use her chi and the Yata Mirror's abilities...)" - Remembering the words of Iori, Mizuki takes the mirror with her using a strange spell making a strange bunch of blue orbs come out of it
"Now I understand! So this is why that happened?" - Mizuki looks at the orbs that came out of the mirror as she purged the object and realized what these white orbs of chi are
"What is she is doing!" - Iori sees Mizuki doing this as she goes away on Maju, he starts to realize what she is probably doing by bringing this chi out of the mirror and what that energy really is, as he feels Chizuru's chi growing
Focusing, Mizuki turns these orbs into an aura that she absorbs with her smiling breathing and feeling her headache disappearing as well as her legs answering again
"Iori Yagami... I promise you that this won't stay like this! Enjoy this small victory for the next time, you will be the first one to die!" - Mizuki looks back at Iori morphing her face to look like Chizuru again, smiling as she disappears in the horizon losing herself in the deserted planet
To Be Continued...
Curse of The Mollusk
A terrible curse created in the ninth circle of hell, capable of creating a mist with the dangerous effect of making anyone who breaths it start becoming a snail from the inside out. However because of its severe effects, the curse needs a huge source of chi to work as it is desired. Whoever uses the curse can activate it on itself making their entire body become the catalyst of the curse too, making from a simple contact to a simple glare at the person eyes to activate the curse on someone. This curse was believed to have been loss to time becoming nothing but a myth... Until this day.